Sunday’s Gymnastics Results
Ball State 195.275, Bowling Green 194.775
Kent State 195.275, Western Michigan 194.650
Northern Illinois 193.375, Eastern Michigan 193.300
Recaps courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments
Ball State 195.275, Bowling Green 194.775
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Led by a strong performance from junior all-around specialist Zoe Middleton, the Ball State gymnastics team moved to 2-0 in Mid-American Conference action with a 195.275-194.775 victory over Bowling Green Sunday afternoon at the Stroh Center.
Middleton exemplified the focused, solid effort by winning the floor competition with a 9.900 and earning a season-best 39.200 to capture the all-around title and help the Cardinals (10-2, 2-0 MAC) claim a clean sweep of the event titles.
Senior Carissa Martinez tied her career-best score with a 9.825 to tie for the win on vault, while sophomore Ashley Szymanski and senior Grace Sumner used 9.800s to earn titles on bars and beam, respectively.
Overall, the Ball State's gymnasts turned in 14 routines of 9.750-or-higher and three career-best performances in the win over the Falcons (1-4; 0-3 MAC) which turned in its best team score of the season by 1.675 points.
Rotation 1: Bars (48.675)
Szymanski took home the individual bars title with a 9.800, her fourth routine of 9.800-or-higher and her third bars win this season. Middleton was second on the squad and third overall, landing a 9.750. The Cardinals also counted 9.725s from sophomore Ava Molina and junior Mary Rose Bellan, as well as a 9.675 from freshman Jordana Phillis.
Rotation 2: Vault (48.825)
Martinez tied for the event win on vault by tying her career-best score with a 9.825. Middleton was not far behind, tying for third overall with a 9.800. The Cardinals also counted a career-best 9.775 from senior Cai Afalla, a 9.725 from graduate Suki Pfister in her 2025 season debut, and a 9.700 from sophomore Lindsay Girard.
Rotation 3: Floor (49.050)
Middleton continued to shine on floor, winning the event with her second 9.900 of the season. Martinez followed with a season-best 9.825, while Molina was third on the squad with a 9.800. Ball State also counted a 9.775 from Girard and a 9.750 from junior Alauna Simms.
Rotation 4: Beam (48.575)
Sumner tied her season best with a 9.800 to take home her first beam title of the season. Molina, Middleton and Szymanski tied for second overall, along with a pair of Falcons, by scoring a 9.750. Rounding out Ball State's countable scores was a 9.675 from sophomore Lindsay Fuller.
All-Around
Middleton logged the Cardinals best all-around score of the season with her 39.200. The effort included a 9.900 on floor, a 9.800 on vault and 9.750s on both bars and beam
The Ball State gymnastics team returns home next Sunday (Feb. 9) when it hosts Central Michigan for both Superhero & Princess Day and Alumni Day in Worthen Arena.
Action starts at 1 p.m. and fans can purchase tickets in advance for just $10 per adult or $5 for youth (2-18) at https://BallStateSports.com/GymTickets.
Kent State 195.275, Western Michigan 194.650
KENT, Ohio – The Kent State gymnastics team improved to 5-0 on the season and 2-0 in conference with a dual-meet win over Western Michigan at the MAC Center on Sunday afternoon. The Flashes earned a team score of 195.275 to best the Broncos' 194.650.
ROTATION 1 – VAULT
The Flashes were led on vault by Charlie Behner, who earned a score of 9.850 to win the event. The next best scores in the event were recorded by Nene Alvine and Mya Migliore, who earned scores of 9.775 and 9.750 respectively.
ROTATION 2 – BARS
Bars was the only event not won by a Kent State gymnast, with the Flashes' highest scores coming from Heidi Schultz and Nastia Rudnitskaya, who each tallied a 9.825 to tie for third place in the event. Migliore followed closely with a 9.800 in the event.
ROTATION 3 – BEAM
Alyssa Guns and Schultz each played a key role in building momentum for the Flashes as they tried to overcome a deficit established in the first two rotations. The duo tied for first on beam, with scores of 9.875. Gabby Riley and Zoe Rankin also played key roles in a big third rotation for the Flashes, each earning scores of 9.800.
ROTATION 4 – FLOOR
The Flashes' momentum continued as they seized the lead and the win in the fourth rotation. A near-perfect routine from Guns on the floor earned a 9.900 to win the event from the anchor position, cementing the win for Kent State. Gabby Riley placed second in the event with an impressive 9.850.
The Flashes will hit the road on a quick turnaround, as they are set to face Northern Illinois in Dekalb on Friday, February 7 at 8 p.m. EST.
Northern Illinois 193.375, Eastern Michigan 193.300
DeKalb, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University Gymnastics team came from behind on the final rotation to defeat Eastern Michigan 193.375-193.300 inside the NIU Convocation Center on Sunday, Feb. 2
The Huskies clinched the win in come from behind fashion on floor. Drake White (Indianapolis, Ind./Bishop Chatard) led the way for NIU on floor overall with a 9.825 which earned second place in the meet. Mikayla Brown (Suwanee, Ga./Peachtree Ridge) scored a 9.775 to earn third place. After an inquiry into the score of the Huskies lead off Dawsyn Sallee (Versailles. Ky./Woodford County) her score moved up to a 9.725 and pushed the Huskies narrowly past EMU. NIU posted a 48.700 on floor as they came from behind from a narrow 144.700-144.675 deficit after the third rotation.
Sallee and Kiera O'Shea (Norridge, Ill./Ridgewood) both posted a 9.725 to lead NIU on the vault and tied for a win on the event. Drake White led off the meet with a 9.675 on vault. Jocelyn Harbeck (Frankfort, Ill./Lincon Way East) followed that with a 9.575. Audrey Brenner (Fon du Lac, Wis./Fon du Lac) added a 9.700 as the Huskies scored a 48.400 on vault. EMU (4-1, 1-2 MAC) scored a 47.725 opening the meet on bars as NIU jumped out to the lead.
Katie Ferguson anchored the Huskies on bars and earned a season high score of 9.750 which was good for second place. O'Shea added a 9.600 from the second spot. Isabella Sissi (Blaine, Minn./Mounds View) went fifth on bars and posted a 9.675. The Huskies scored
a 47.700 on bars.
Ellery Werner (Rhinelander,Wis./Rhinelander) anchored the beam and posted a season high of 9.875 to lead NIU. Brown added a 9.725 on beam. NIU posted a 48.525 on beam and slipped just behind EMU by a score of 144.700 to 144.675 headed to the floor.
NIU will be back in action inside the NIU Convocation Center against Kent State on Friday, Feb. 7. The meet is set for a 7 p.m. start and will also be the Huskies Annual Beauty and the Beast Meet with NIU Wrestling.